My mom had a special prayer for restoration for me. It was a promise based on her hope for the future but grounded in the reality of a harsh present and past. She knew that life had not always been easy for me and that there were scars so deep that they would likely affect my future. But even more than her understanding of my struggles and pains, she knew of God’s provisions and promises. In Joel 2:25, God makes a promise to His people that He will restore unto them the years that the locusts had eaten. When Mom would claim that promise for me in prayer, I knew that what she was looking for was not simply an emergence from turbulence but a full restoration of what had been lost in the fight. 

You Can Only Remember What You Have Already Learned

It had been a long time since I thought about those words; so, when they came crashing into my mind last Friday like a glorious tornado tearing an opening in the thick overgrowth of my spirit, I was flattened by their significance. Her voice rang out clearly in my mind reminding me of the promise and showing me the evidence of its actualization. Friday was the last day of my healing fast, and I felt wonderful. My daughter had confessed the night before that I was more “me” than I had been in years; I was the mom she remembered from before the accident. 

Overcome With Praise

Sobs suddenly consumed me. My weeping seemed to spring from a desert oasis – an unexpected outpouring in the middle of so much emptiness. I began praising and thanking God for all He had done in my life. I couldn’t stop – either crying or thanking Him. Suddenly, I knew that so much of what needed to be healed – was. I felt different; I could think better. My gamble on an extreme solution had paid off, and I could literally see the results.

Time Is More Important Than Stuff

It wasn’t enough to regain my ability to function the way I had before; I was confident that not only would God restore my brain function, He would restore what had been lost. That last part was the most reassuring. Restoration wasn’t just about eaten crops that would grow back – that wasn’t the promise. The promise was about time. God promised to restore the years the locusts had eaten. Causing a bumper crop to grow wasn’t nearly enough – time, life, relationships, growth, and prosperity had all been lost, and only time could restore those to one who had lost them. 

 A Prayer For Hope and Restoration

God’s promises are not weak. There is a power in them that we often overlook or underestimate. The revelation of the depth of His promise is a blessing and an inspiration. His blessings can not be contained and the promise that crashed its way into my mind that morning was evidence of His goodness pressed down, shaken together and overflowing for me.